Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XVI

7 2 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I For our chat, Bradley was wearing a blue jacket, white linen shirt, blue jeans, and Tod's loafers. Q: Bradley, you seem like a man whose life has caught up to his ambitions. COOPER: It's been crazy! (Laughs) For a long time I thought I was never going to get the chance to do the kind of work I had been aiming for when I started out as an actor. I almost gave up on myself....Then I was able to turn things around and suddenly I was working with my acting heroes that I grew up admiring. It still seems very surreal. Q: How do you compare your life today to what it was like ten years ago? COOPER: It's night and day. You go from a place where you feel frustrated and hopeless and then you see your dreams coming true and everything you worked so hard for is finally happening. I would wish that everyone would have a chance to experience that kind of feeling. Everything's different now. Simply having financial security is one thing that makes your life somuch easier because when you get into this business you know the odds are heavily weighted against you. There are a lot of talented actors who for one reason or another never get a chance to prove themselves and you're constantly reminded how tough it can be to earn a living doing what you love. Q: Did you ever think you weren't going to make it? COOPER: There's this crushing anxiety you feel when you're not getting the parts you want and you wonder if that's your destiny. I struggled for a long time and you never forget what you went through to finally make it. Even with the success I've had, I still fight for roles that I don't wind up getting so there's still enough uncertainty to keep you hungry. But now I have the freedom to travel when I want to, enjoy everything about my life, and also have the ability tomake smaller kinds of films that don't pay very much but which are very rewarding artistically. Q: With “Serena,” does it seem surreal to be working on your third film with Jennifer Lawrence? COOPER: Jennifer is such a wonderful girl. We've had so much fun working together and I'm so proud of her success. She's one of the most down-to-earth and unpretentious individuals you could ever meet, and it's such a pleasure to spend time with her. Jennifer is incredibly talented and she's one of those natural performers who are instinctively good at what they do. Q: How did “Serena” come about? COOPER: “Serena” was a fluke, really. Jennifer was attached to it when we were doing “Silver Linings.” And then I looked at it, and I knew Susanne (Bier), and thought, "Why don't we just do this together?" Q: Was it interesting to do a period film? COOPER: That was part of my fascination, although I was very anxious to work with Susanne who is one of the world's outstanding filmmakers. “After theWedding” (which starsMadsMikkelsen - ED) is such a brilliant andmoving film. I also wanted to learn to ride a horse, which I needed to do for the film. It sounds like an odd reason, but as an actor you're constantly looking for different kinds of experiences like that. Q: Have you and Jennifer Lawrence developed a kind of acting shorthand together? COOPER: (Laughs) It's much easier when you have a natural rapport with another actor and Jennifer and I both know each other so well that we don't need to think too much about our scenes together. Susanne Bier is also an exceptional director and if you look at her films you can see how much sensitivity she brings to the characters in her films. I learned a lot fromworking with her and I think Jennifer also appreciated being able to be part of this kind of a story. Q: Are you inclined to move away from comedy and do more dramas like “Serena” and “American Sniper,” which Clint Eastwood is directing? COOPER: Comedy absolutely still interests me. I mean, I don't see them as separate things. As much of a drama as “Silver Linings Playbook” was, to me there was a lot of comedy in that movie. And we were very conscious about that while we were making it. And “AmericanHustle” has a lot of comedy in it, too. In an ideal world, the best dramas have levity in them. Q: Would you like to keep working with directors like DavidO. Russell or Susanne Bier again? COOPER: I plead guilty to the accusation of working and wanting to keep working with people again and again. That's the goal, to create an artistic circle that works. If you look at any period of art that's really exploding, it's people collaborating again and again. You look at (Martin) Scorsese and De Niro -- it's always about pairing and the groups. I'm lucky that David O. Russell wanted to do a movie with me again. And what's even more beautiful is that De Niro has become like a father to me. It's hard to describe how much that means to me. Q: Did you discuss acting with De Niro or get any advice from him? COOPER: He's taught me so much about acting as much by talking to me as by my being able to spend time with him, just watching him. He's shown me that you shouldn't try too hard - you should rather let a scene flow and allow yourself to be part of that process and not try to "act" but to be present. I thought I was actually good at that, that being natural was my best asset as an actor. But then when I first worked with De Niro on “Limitless” I saw that I wasn't as good as I thought! (Laughs) Q: Is workingwithClint Eastwood another personal highpoint for you? COOPER: Yes. I've wanted to work with him for years. I first sent him an audition tape when I tried out for “Flags of our Fathers.” Then I tried out for “Gran Torino” and “J. Edgar” but unfortunately I didn't get to be part of those films. Then I acquired the rights to “American Sniper” (Cooper is a producer on the film - ED) and finally I got to work withClint. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Q: Have you found it hard to adjust to being a celebrity and seeing your private life splashed about in the media? COOPER: I don't talk about my private life very much and I don't really care what gets written about me. Usually there's no truth at all to what you read about me and my relationships. In Hollywood, all you have to do is be at the same party together or get photographed at some event and suddenly you're the subject of the wildest gossip stories. It doesn't affect my life at all and why should I let any of that spoil all the good things that have happened to me as an actor?